The One Most Important Thing to Do to Get to The Top!

Have you ever wondered how the top consultants of a company get to the top?  If you ask people who are NOT at the top, they will tell you opinions similar to the following:

* That person got started with the company at the beginning so, of course, he/she has the biggest organization in the company!

* That person is at the top because he/she works this business all the time and leaves the spouse to take care of all the family chores and the children.

* That person is at the top because he/she is single and doesn’t have the time commitment of taking care of a family.

* That person gets all the best leads from the company

You probably noticed a similar theme in each of these statements – the person at the top somehow has a seemingly more advantageous situation, which explains his/her success. If you had the opportunity to ask the people who are at the top of any company what they considered to be the most important thing they did to get to the top of the company, what do you think they would say?

When one of my million dollar producers was on a cruise ship alongside all the top producers in the company one year, she decided not to imbibe in the mimosas that were offered that morning and instead to interview all the top producers to discover the ONE THING they did that others did not do to get to the top (I guess I do not need to explain WHY SHE was one of the top managers in the company, do I?).

It turns out that the vast majority of them all said the exact same thing. Interestingly, no one said it was due to his/her uncanny ability to conjure up luck any time he/she needed it.

The one activity that the vast majority of top leaders do that others do not is they continually generate NEW business, no matter what. Even if they have a full calendar, they continually work at finding and getting new business. If they have a good sales team, they still continually work at getting new business. If they are one of the select few to go on a reward trip for the top leaders in the company, they still continually work at generating new business.

Top salespeople understand that they must, at first, learn to feel comfortable doing the uncomfortable.Playing it safe and hiding behind current success fails to attract new prospect’s attention.  These top performers talk to strangers even before they are any good at it. They seize the phone even without courage. (Check out my most requested book- CARPE PHONUM!) They step outside their comfort zone even when they do not want to.

It is true that some people are truly gifted – take Mozart for example. He wrote his first symphony (No. 1 in E-flat major, KV. 16) at age eight.  However, if you are thinking that he started taking music lessons at age seven, and that he ran around outside like a typical elementary student, you are way off base.

Leopold Mozart began instructing his son, Wolfgang Mozart at age two, and unlike other preschoolers, Wolfgang was never seen outside playing. He worked and practiced at music day and night night and day from the time he was two until his death at age 35. He was not lucky (in fact, you would consider him anything but that after reading his life story). Mozart was, however, extremely diligent, no matter what chaotic circumstance was going on in his life – indeed, even during the most stressful times of his life, he wrote his most influential music.

Top performers do not give themselves an OUT; they get up every day and put themselves back IN the game and on the playing field.

Too many people keep waiting until the moment when they feel they are ready to make calls, for a better time to call, for the day when they feel good about prospecting. The key is to realize that none of that ever happens until you start practicing and stop waiting.

I believe the reason why leaders are often presented as people who have an advantageous situation is because those who are not in the leadership position believe that once they get to the top they will be able to rest on their laurels. Therefore, people assume that the leaders at the top are resting, just as they are secretly hoping they will be able to do one day.

NEWSFLASH! The people at the top are not resting. Top leaders consistently do what others do not. They consistently look for new prospects, yes, even when they’re at the top!